2014 Fiat 500: jerking or lurching

Filed Sep 22, 2015 · Transmission · 9,980 miles · VA

The check engine light came on, the check transmission light came on, "clutch over heating" displayed and the car stopped shifting smoothly. The dealer "reset" the clutch; after driving 1 mile, it happened again stopping in traffic on a very busy highway during rush hour "wait while the clutch cools down" almost causing crashes as cars veered to get around my stopped car. The dealer replaced then clutch. In less than 2 miles, the car had a similar problem, but would only automatically go into gears 2, 4, 6 and would shift in a jerking manner at best. Reverse gear was not available and alarms would sound if I put the car in neutral or reverse ("this gear not available" would display.) the dealership is replacing the transmission and the flywheel and told me this model had problems with the clutch and transmission. The car has now just gone over 10,000 miles. I do not trust this car. I want and need a replacement. I do not believe after 3 attempts - twice leaving me stopped in the middle of heavy traffic on the highway - the car is anything other than a lemon.

Filed Aug 28, 2015 · Engine · 39,000 miles · CA · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2014 fiat 500. While stopped at a traffic light, the vehicle jerked violently. A message appeared on the dashboard instructing the contact to place the transmission shifter in the neutral position and then into the drive position. The contact followed the instructions and the engine failed without warning. The contact attempted to restart the engine multiple times before succeeding. The check engine warning light then illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was reluctant to accelerate and drive slowly. The contact also noticed a burning odor. The contact discovered that the odor was coming from under the hood. The vehicle was towed to a dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 39,000. The consumer stated the vehicle was taken to the dealer on multiple occasions for the jolting. The dealer advised the computer was learning the driver's habits and was operating as designed. After the failure, the vehicle was towed to the dealer and was repaired under warranty. The manufacturer offered a 60,000 mile warranty, no deductible, free of cost and $500.00 for compensation. The consumer was dissatisfied with the offer. Upon retrieving the vehicle the dealer advised the consumer to put the vehicle in neutral while at a stop, because one of the clutches slightly drags and would eventually burn up, which is what caused the failure. The consumer believed that was unacceptable.

Filed Jul 27, 2015 · 10,000 miles · NC

Purchased from hendricks in cary, nc. Never felt it operated correctly, would lurch forward very violently and braking was difficult. In early feb 2015 while driving at 30-35mph the car refused to move forward and was stuck on 2nd gear, pulled over and turned it off twice, but would not correct. Drove 6 miles to dealer on 2nd gear, they checked it but sent me on my way telling me that they could not duplicate it and therefore not investigate. Also, they told me that there were no other similar complaints ever made to fiat-chrysler. 2 wks later the car stalled and then just shut down in the middle of an intersection, no towing provided when I called dealership, I waited for my aaa to show up(in 16 degrees)they had the car for over 3 weeks and said they couldn't find the problem. This has continued to happen, on 2nd gear and twice when I accelerate on highway wont go past 5th gear and every time I take it in and pick it up, there are other issues, radio, bluetooth,not operating, stalling, lurking and brakes, its locked me out, there is also a very foul order from the exhaust that has been there since the day I took it home. Total days in service at hendricks 71. Filed with fiat-chrylser on advice from dealer, they said they supported the buy back, but when it came down to doing it, they refused to assist. Fiat-chrysler requested I take it back to dealer, they had it for 36 days. No one calls or communicates with me so I just show up to get an update and the dealer tells me there is nothing wrong with the car, the buy back has been refused and I need to take my car back now! When I picked up the car after 36 days it had the same miles as when I dropped it off. This was 1 week ago and I have yet to hear from fiat-chrysler regarding my request for a buyback or at least an update on their investigation.

Filed Mar 14, 2015 · Acceleration, Engine · 15,461 miles · UT

While driving the car, would experience jerky movements while the car shifted in 1st, 2nd and 3rd gears, both accelerating and decelerating. Have had issues with the transmission locking while the car is in park, needing to let the car sit and then restarting it. Have also had issues with sluggish 1st gear that suddenly lurches forward when the gas pedal is really pushed down. Braking is also touchy. Multiple trips to the dealership service department to have this fixed, opened a case with the manufacturer regarding the fixes. Manufacturer supplied a new transmission valve body that was replaced, seemingly fixed the jerky movement but resulted in the sluggish 1st gear. Manufacturer closed case when lemon law was mentioned.

Filed Mar 3, 2015 · Transmission · 20,500 miles · IL · crash

In may 2014 my 2014 fiat 500l was brought to ziegler dealership for a safety recall concerning the automatic transaxle gear shift module and they flashed the esm (recall on the federal safety agency website). In january 2015 we noticed a burning smell under the engine. If we put car into reverse and gas pedal pushed, car hesitated 1-2 seconds before the car would start moving. Car lurched forward several times on road at a dead stop. Rough shifting on roads. Check transmission and engine warning light illuminated in early feb 2015 and we brought it back to ziegler. They determined it needed a new transmission control module. Only 4 modules in the entire us, and all were spoken for (4 other fiats in for the exact same problem). Ziegler contacted the manufacturer to get an "upgraded" transmission module, not the one originally designed for the car. After being told it would be 1 1/2 months to get the unit, it showed up mid february. I confirmed that we got this "upgraded" unit and dealer said yes. Took possession of my car on 2/13/15. This past week, we again had a burning smell in the engine, encountered car lurching while car was in drive and foot securely on the brake. Slow engine reaction when hitting gas when putting car into reverse, rough shifting. Was planning on calling dealer on monday 3/2, however on saturday 2/28/15 the car was involved in a driver side t-bone crash as the car would not move when gas pedal was pushed. Car totalled by insurance company. My daughter could have been killed because the car did not move when gas pedal was pressed. Fiat is now fireselling these 2014 models and are not offering this "dual clutch" transmission in 2015 models. They know about these transmission issues but their "fix" is still putting lives in jeopardy. If you own this car, get rid of it asap!

Filed Feb 11, 2015 · Transmission · 1,800 miles · GA

In stop and go traffic the car started jerking and was hesitant to move forward. Smoke was emitted and came into the car with a strong odor. Dealer diagnosed as an overheated clutch (this is the euro ddct, an automated manual transmission). The clutch/transmission temperature warning light did not come on before or during the issue. When the car cooled down, it was able to be driven again but was jerky when shifting. Dealer did a "relearn" on the clutch and advised all software is up to date. Also that transmission should be placed in neutral at stops and shifted manually in stop and go driving (neither of which are specified in owner's manual).